EXPLOSION LIFTS MAN INTO SEA

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 75, 20 June 1927, Page 9

EXPLOSION LIFTS MAN INTO SEA

SPEED-BOAT AFIRE TOTAL LOSS LIKELY at 25 knots the speedboat Miss X burst into flames on Sunday afternoon and the force of the explosion blew the man who was steering her out of the cock-pit into the water. The mechanic tried an extinguisher on the flames, but they enveloped the boat and he had to dive overboard. rpHE two men who had a quarter of “*■ a mile swim to Maori Bay are P. V. Humphreys, who is recovering from the shock of being: blown overboard, and W. Turner, chief mechanic at Hoyes Motors, Ltd., who is uninjured. The speed-boat, which was owned by Mr. R. M. Hoyes, of Remuera, was a 22-footer valued at £BOO. She now lies in about three feet of water in Maori Bay, probably a total wreck. Coming back from St. Heliers, the boat was stopped at Orakei wharf to clean the spark plugs and take in petrol. Here the starting motor fifed but was put out with an extinguisher. The engine was started up and the boat was going along nicely, a*bout a quarter of a mile out, when the explosion occurred. The hull was towed inshore by a fishing-launch. One of the smartest sprinters on -the harbour, the Miss X was usually on scratch in the races. In the last provincial championship she competed in, the Walker and Hall Cup, an outbreak of fire compelled her to withdraw. Messrs. Collings and Bell built her about two years ago. She had a 90 h.p. Curtiss engine.